News Archive - May 2013

Two employees without work permits arrested

Two employees have been arrested at a restaurant in Sunderland for working without the correct UK work permits.

UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers arrested the two men, both from Bangladesh, as part of the Immigration Enforcement operation in Sunderland.

The individuals, aged 21 and 22, were arrested during a visit to the Saffron restaurant. Officers conducted immigration checks and found that the men had no right to be working in Britain.

Wallace Wilson, from the Home Office Immigration Enforcement team, commented: "Illegal working has a serious impact on communities, undermining legitimate businesses and taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.

"We are happy to work with businesses to let them know what checks need to be done on staff. Those who choose to break the law should know that we are out there looking for them and they will face heavy fines."

He added that the Home Office is keen for any members of the public who have information about similar suspected immigration abuse cases to get in touch.

The two men have now been arrested and are being detained until they can be removed from the country.

Meanwhile, Saffron will be issued with a fine notice for employing the individuals. If they are then unable to provide evidence that they conducted the correct right-to-work checks on the Bangladeshi men, then the restaurant could be hit with a fine of up to £20,000 - £10,000 for each employee.

The news follows the arrests of six illegal workers in Kent, who were found at restaurants around the region working without the correct immigration papers in place. Some individuals were working in breach of their UK visa conditions, while others were working following the expiration of their visas.